Buying a Condo in Singapore: Full Process & Timeline (Updated 2026)

You’ve decided to buy a condo on the resale market. There are likely two questions you want answers for:

“What do I actually have to do, step-by-step?”

“How long is the whole process going to take?”

P.S. if you’re looking to sell a condo before buying one, you might want to read our full guide to selling a condo first instead!

Buying a resale condo in 2026 runs through eight clear stages, from getting your loan sorted to searching for your dream property to collecting your keys. From start to finish, most buyers should plan for 3 to 6 months: a week or two to secure your In-Principle Approval, however long it takes you to find the right unit on the market, and then about 10 to 12 weeks once you’ve secured an Option to Purchase (OTP). Here’s the full timeline at a glance:

Now let’s walk through each stage so you know exactly what happens and the action(s) required on your end.

1. Secure an In-Principle Approval (IPA)

The first step is to find out how much a bank will actually lend you. The way to do so is via an In-Principle Approval (IPA) – a free assessment from a bank that confirms, based on your real income and debts, the loan amount you qualify for.

Unlike an HDB purchase, there’s no eligibility letter or housing grant to apply for when you buy a condo. The IPA is your starting point instead, and getting it before you start viewing saves you from falling in love with a unit you can’t afford.

Two things worth knowing upfront:

• You can borrow up to 75% of the price or valuation, whichever is lower, for a first housing loan (with a tenure of 30 years or less that doesn’t run past age 65). That leaves a 25% downpayment to fund yourself.
• Your loan is capped by TDSR. The Total Debt Servicing Ratio limits all your monthly debt repayments – home loan, car loan, credit cards – to 55% of your gross monthly income, and banks stress-test this at an interest rate floor of 4%. If you have other big loans, they eat into how much you can borrow for the condo.

An IPA is free and valid for a period of 30 to 90 days. The exact validity period differs from bank to bank, so make sure to double-check on this prior to applying for the IPA.

2. Sort out your full budget

Your IPA tells you what you can borrow. This step is about deciding how you’ll actually pay – and for a condo, the upfront costs are where buyers get the biggest surprises.

There are five pieces to get straight: your downpayment, your CPF, your Buyer’s Stamp Duty, your Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty, and your legal and valuation fees.

a. Your downpayment

With a 75% loan, you cover the remaining 25% as a downpayment. That splits into two parts: a minimum 5% in cash, and the remaining 20% in cash, CPF, or a mix of both. You can’t pay the entire 25% from CPF – the 5% cash minimum is a hard rule.

b. How much CPF can you use?

You can use your CPF Ordinary Account (OA) savings for the 20% portion of the downpayment, the monthly instalments, and your stamp duties. For most buyers, CPF covers a meaningful chunk of the upfront cost – but the first 5% has to be cash, and CPF can’t be used for the option fee at the point you collect the OTP.

c. Buyer’s Stamp Duty (BSD)

Everyone pays Buyer’s Stamp Duty when they buy property in Singapore. BSD is tiered: you pay 1% on the first $180,000, 2% on the next $180,000, 3% on the next $640,000, 4% on the next $500,000, and higher rates above that, calculated on the price or valuation, whichever is higher. These rates have been unchanged since 15 February 2023. Here’s the full schedule:

For example, on a $1,500,000 condo, your BSD works out to $44,600. You pay it within 14 days of exercising the OTP, and you can use CPF for it.

d. Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) – the big one for condos

Here’s the cost that catches condo buyers off guard. Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) is an extra tax on top of BSD, and how much you pay depends entirely on your profile and how many residential properties you already own.

A Singapore Citizen pays no ABSD on their first property. But if you already own a home – say you’re keeping your HDB flat and buying a condo as a second property – that condo attracts 20% ABSD as a citizen. The rates climb from there. They’ve been unchanged since 27 April 2023:

On a $1,500,000 condo bought as a citizen’s second property, that’s $300,000 in ABSD – which dwarfs every other cost in the transaction. This is the number that makes or breaks most condo purchases, so check your profile against the current rates on IRAS before you commit.

e. Legal and valuation fees

Two smaller costs to budget for are conveyancing (legal) fees typically around the range of $2,000 to $3,500 and a valuation fee of $300 – $500 when you take a bank loan (though some banks waive this cost as part of a loan package perk).

3. Engage a conveyancing lawyer

This is a step most HDB buyers don’t have to think about, but condo buyers do – engaging a conveyancing lawyer. And you want to do this early, ideally right before you make an offer so they can step in the moment the offer is verbally accepted and the OTP needs to be reviewed.

A conveyancing lawyer handles the legal transfer of ownership from the seller to you: title searches, the Sale and Purchase paperwork, liaising with your bank and CPF, and making sure you exercise the OTP correctly and on time. Lining one up before you’re under a deadline means you’re not scrambling for representation the moment a seller grants you an option.

4. Search and view condos

With your IPA in hand and your budget mapped, you can finally commence house-hunting. Property portals like PropertyGuru and 99.co are where most listings live, and you can search, shortlist, and arrange viewings yourself.

The condo market moves faster and more privately than the HDB resale market – there’s no central portal, valuations aren’t published, and a well-priced unit in a popular development can attract multiple offers in days. That makes two things matter more than they do for an HDB purchase: knowing what a fair price actually is, and being ready to move quickly when the right unit appears.

This is where Propseller comes in. Our buyer’s agents handle the legwork most people don’t have time for: shortlisting units that fit your budget and goals, arranging viewings, pulling recent transacted prices so you know what’s fair, and negotiating the price down rather than letting you overpay in a competitive market. Find out how Propseller helps buyers achieve the best outcome.

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5. Get the Option to Purchase (OTP)

Found the unit? The next step is to secure it with an Option to Purchase (OTP) – a legal document the seller grants you that gives you, and only you, the right to buy the property at the agreed price for a set period.

To get the OTP, you pay the seller an Option Fee, typically 1% of the purchase price. Do note that this can run up to 4-5% as it’s negotiable – it depends on what you agree with the seller. Once you’ve paid and the seller signs, you hold an exclusive option on the unit and no one else can buy it out from under you.

The OTP gives you an Option Period – commonly 14 days, though it’s (once again) negotiable between you and the seller. During this window, you complete your loan arrangements, instruct your lawyer, and decide whether to go ahead.

6. Exercise the OTP

This is the point of commitment. To exercise the OTP, you sign it and pay the seller the balance of the deposit – typically 4%, bringing your total deposit to 5% of the purchase price. You return the signed OTP through your lawyer before the option expires.

One thing to watch here, and it’s the condo equivalent of HDB’s cash-over-valuation problem: the bank values the property independently. If the bank’s valuation comes in below the price you agreed, your 75% loan is calculated on that lower valuation – so you have to make up the shortfall in cash. Get an indicative valuation before you exercise, not after, so a gap doesn’t catch you out.

Once you exercise, you’re contractually bound to buy, and the stamp duty clock (14 days) starts ticking.

7. Pay your stamp duties and progress to completion

Within 14 days of exercising the OTP, you pay your Buyer’s Stamp Duty and, if it applies to you, your Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty. Your lawyer usually handles the payment to IRAS on your behalf, drawing from CPF and cash as arranged.

1. Your lawyer conducts the title searches and legal requisitions to confirm the property is clean.
2. Your bank prepares to disburse the loan and your CPF is arranged for release.
3. Both sides’ lawyers coordinate the completion date and the final accounts.

Your job during this phase is mostly to respond promptly when your lawyer or bank needs a signature or a document – delays on your end are the most common reason a completion date slips.

8. Completion and key collection

The final stage. On the completion date – usually around 8 to 12 weeks after you first exercised the OTP – your lawyers finalise the transaction between them, typically at the seller’s lawyer’s office. You usually don’t need to attend in person.

On the day:

• The balance of the purchase price is paid to the seller, drawn from your loan, CPF, and cash as planned.
• Ownership is legally transferred to you.
• The keys are handed over.

And the condo is now officially yours!

How much cash do you actually need upfront?

This is the question that matters most, because a condo purchase demands a lot of cash before you ever collect the keys – and unlike an HDB flat, there are no grants to soften it. Let’s walk through a realistic example: a $1,500,000 resale condo, bought by a Singapore Citizen as a second property, with a 75% loan.

Two things jump out. First, the ABSD alone is $300,000 – which is why your profile and existing property holdings matter more than almost anything else in a condo purchase. Second, even though CPF can cover a large share, you still need a substantial sum in actual cash: at minimum the 5% downpayment and the legal fees, plus whatever your CPF can’t stretch to cover on the stamp duties.

If you’re a first-time buyer with no other property, the picture is far lighter – no ABSD, and the same downpayment and BSD. The single biggest lever on your upfront cost is whether this is your first property or your second.

FAQ

How long does it take to buy a resale condo?

Plan for 3 to 6 months in total. Securing your IPA takes a week or two, finding the right unit takes as long as it takes, and once you’ve exercised the OTP, the legal process and completion run roughly 8 to 12 weeks.

Can I buy a condo without an agent?

Yes. You can search listings, arrange viewings, and negotiate yourself, then rely on your conveyancing lawyer for the legal steps. Many buyers still use an agent for the price negotiation and to read the market, but it isn’t required.

How much cash do I need to buy a condo?

At minimum, the 5% cash portion of the downpayment, plus legal and valuation fees. Beyond that, it depends on how much CPF you have to cover the rest of the 25% downpayment and your stamp duties – and crucially, whether ABSD applies to you.

Do I have to pay ABSD on a condo?

Only if it isn’t your first residential property (or you’re a PR or foreigner). A Singapore Citizen buying their first property pays no ABSD. A citizen buying a second property pays 20%, which on a typical condo runs into the hundreds of thousands.

Can I use CPF for the condo downpayment?

Yes, for the 20% portion of the downpayment, but not the first 5% – that has to be cash. You can also use CPF for your monthly instalments and stamp duties, subject to the usual CPF withdrawal limits.

What is an IPA and how long is it valid?

An In-Principle Approval is a free assessment from a bank confirming how much it will lend you, based on your real income and debts. It’s typically valid for around 30 days (though this varies by bank and can go up to 90 days), so get it close to when you’re ready to start making offers.

Buying a resale condo isn’t complicated once you can see the whole path – secure your IPA, map your budget, line up a lawyer, find your unit, secure it with an OTP, and let the legal process run to completion. The part that trips people up is rarely the steps. It’s the money beneath it all: the ABSD (if applicable) that doubles your upfront cost, the bank valuation that came in under the price forcing you to fork out more cash, and the hidden costs with engaging legal help.

That’s where having someone experienced in your corner pays for itself. At Propseller, our agents help buyers find the right unit, read the valuation and the market honestly, and negotiate a price that doesn’t leave you overpaying. Get a free, non-obligatory consultation to help plan your property needs properly!

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